An Intense Finish for Hillary Clinton

10/24/2012 10:30PM

Hillary Clinton's final weeks as Secretary of State were supposed to be more of a victory lap. But that quickly changed after the disastrous events in Benghazi. WSJ's Monica Langley and Jerry Seib discuss the end of her tenure and future prospects. Photo: REUTERS.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... a tense finish for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... I am Jerry Sithe were joined by Monica Langley my colleagues than assessing profile Secretary State as she heads for the exits ... she's gonna leave office in a few weeks ... is this must be a smooth ride out my to scuttle rough along the way how she coping with it ... she's coping well she thought she was going to put in lots of appearances across the globe ... in her final few weeks it's turned out she's done that and a whole lot more ... Inc's had to do a whole lot more because some things haven't gone well particularly ... the attack on the consulate and then doesn't leave you were the U S investors are others tragically died ... how much of a ... preoccupation did you find that to be issued followed her around in recent weeks pedal ... pedal preoccupation ... she basically canceled her stage all that entire week when it occurred at that became her focused ... and it's remained her focused every day ... and ... she is also carrying on all her underpants that you know when to China with her before that occurred ... and when she was doing and that and seven nation tour over eleven days ... she came back with the occurred that took her an entire week to handle that ... ING's worked on that when she went to the United Nations General Assembly in Obama ... I did not ... meet with the leader so she did all that for him as well as her own counterparts ... and has continued to team meetings and the traveling but that's ... on Iraq but ... there was a sense you you are the action first person who ... heard the Helmerich when I take responsibility for half and then got C line that um and they were there some people think the issues and she threw herself under the bus to benefit the president for doing that what you think are thinking in the calculation was in saying I'm the one to blame if there are security lapses ... she wanted to share with that as the Secretary of State the indices security is her responsibility and she wanted to show that she was willing to take that responsibility ... an interesting thing that I found in reporting the story Jerry is that she also unbelievably in some lace given their strong and fierce partisan battle when they both ran for president last time ... heck she is becoming increasingly close to President Obama ... so in some way she took that pressure off of him ... she did she didn't do this as a payment that brought Obama ... I don't think she would ever say it that way but it clearly had that effect until he himself in a debate ... to for sponsors or so as well what signs you see that these two people who as you say have a very tense relationship four years ago ... what are the signs that they've actually bonded ... over the last two-and-a-half years closer now ... they've always had a strong respect for worn out there and it worked ... really well together people say ... that in the last few weeks in the typically culminating during Libya ... and they eat ... they started sensing that the decisions they make really have liked India and when their bodies were flown Take Care Act insurers ... and eight when he finished his remark she grabbed his hand and held it ... in human a walk from the podium he put his arm around her waist and aides from both the White House in State Department said ... this is a close with closest they had never seen between the cake you are making things like that he sent her an I pod cover ... she seen him an espresso machine when they talk about things they both needed ... so there is this new bonds can only guess four years ago ... the light exec ... so for years ago four years from now ... that I cannot avoid the quest with Hillary Clinton ... he she gonna run for president there is a great body of the Democratic party that she's inevitably going Iran and most likely be the Democratic nominee in twenty sixteen no matter how this ... turns out ... he had asked the question how to shoot you with a question ... and she'd knowledge is everybody is asking that question you knowing that the Democratic convention ... she was in that tiny country of Timor Leste eight when her husband spent in to watch it ... via satellite ... that she says ... frankly she says ... I'm ruled it out ... on the other hand ... she said that teeny tiny opening that some Democrats hope when she would act on ... she says I will always serve my country ... so there you have it is that none of the small opening people that her ... to run the net as a well ... needed her approval ratings were almost seventy percent ... she is clearly a favorite not just among Democrats ... demand Republicans is well you might say they're against Colin Powell who was one of those rare public officials whose approval is higher when he or she leaves office and when entering office Washington tens were to be around these days and placing your guess is she gonna take some time off and then seriously consider this question you know I mean she doesn't know herself ... so it will be hard to say I did spend a lot of time with her in ... the one thing it's crystal clear even it up though she's a diplomat ... she is one savvy politician ... I mean with issues in China at a press conference with the foreign minister ... already she said the union are here in town ... she is working the rain she knows that quick alas it's not that great quit ... she is one politician ... as much as her husband's day and the one thing we know is that she's not leading the public stage with a show ... presenter notches can be with us for a while to fastening the Monica thank insurance ... with this ... question this is Jerry side ...